Nike Olympic Summit reveals controversial Alphafly Next% marathon shoe & other footwear...
NEW YORK--At Nike's Olympic Summit on Wednesday, the Beaverton-based company announced the launch of several track and field competition spikes, and the uniform that the USA national team and other federations will wear in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
The biggest news out of New York was the announcement that the controversial Nike Alphafly Next% (above/photo courtesy Nike) marathon racing shoe, a prototype of which was worn by Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge when he became the first man to break 2 hours in the marathon in any conditions last fall in Vienna when he ran 1:59:41, will be released to the public on Saturday February 29th to Nike Run Club members.
The Alphafly Next% is the next generation of marathon racing shoes that Nike has developed over the last four years, beginning with a prototype worn by Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg at the 2016 Olympic marathon trials in Los Angeles, Kipchoge when he won the Olympic marathon in Rio and the Breaking 2 Project in 2017 in Italy where he came close to breaking 2 hours in the marathon.
The February 29 release date happens to coincide with the day of the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.
THE ALPHAFLY NEXT% MARATHON SHOE
In the weeks leading up to the Olympic Trials, the Alphafly Next%, and to a certain extent, the Vaporfly, has elicited an outcry from those in the running community because of its higher than normal stack height (amount of material between the foot and the ground), the Zoom Air pods in the shoe's forefoot, the Pebax foam midsole (Nike's proprietary name for the foam is Zoom X), and the scoop-like carbon fiber plate imbedded in the foam that critics contend works on the same principle as a blade or prosthetic foot.
Athletes who have sponsorship agreements with other manufacturers have used doctored Nike Vaporflys in order to compete with those possessing the Vaporfly.
Proponents of the shoe shot back by saying that all of the materials used in the making of the Alphafly Next% have been used at some point by various manufacturers since the turn of the century, but that Nike has found a way to engineer these materials so they work in concert with each other.
In response to complaints by various stakeholders of the sport, World Athletics (formerly the IAAF) amended its rules on competition shoes last week.
Beginning April 30th (not so coincidentally, 4 months before the first day of track & field competition at the Olympics), any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market (online or in store) for a period of four months before it can be used in competition.
"If a shoe is not openly available to all then it will be deemed a prototype and use of it in competition will not be permitted. Subject to compliance with the rules, any shoe that is available to all, but is customised for aesthetic reasons, or for medical reasons to suit the characteristics of a particular athlete’s foot, will be allowed."
Moving forward, any shoe thicker than 40 millimeters is banned from competition, and can't have more than one rigid embedded plate. In the case of track spikes, an additional plate is allowed, but "only for the purpose of attaching the spikes to the sole, and the sole must be no thicker than 30 mm."
Historically, all of the major athletic shoe manufacturers have used the Olympics and/or the world championships to launch their new lines, with the expectation that the footwear you see on the Olympians will be available for sale the following year.
However, the new World Athletics ruling has forced Nike and other manufacturers to accelerate the launch of their products.
Just last week, Seattle based Brooks Sports announced the launch of their answer to the Vaporfly Next% (Nike's current marathon racing shoe), the Hyperion Elite on February 27th. Saucony, New Balance, Asics, and others are expected to announce similar shoes with the combination of a carbon fiber plate embedded in a foam midsole.
A question raised by athletes who don't have an athletic footwear sponsorship competing at the Marathon Trials is whether or not they can obtain these shoes in a proper timeframe before the Trials in order to make a reasonable decision to use/not use them in competition without feeling as if they're at a competitive disadvantage.
THE SPIKES
At the same summit, Nike also announced the release of the Air Zoom Victory (below/photo of Konstanze Klosterhöfen's prototype spikes by Paul Merca) distance spike for the 800-10000 meters, and the Air Zoom Viperfly sprint spike.
According to the Nike release, the Air Zoom Victory has a unique welded Nike Zoom Air sole, which divides the unit into two separate pockets, provides responsive impact protection and allows for a smooth transition without sacrificing control on the track. The Nike ZoomX foam is employed as a thin midsole between the carbon plate and ground, and the full system is tuned to minimize energy loss and maximize response. The spike's upper is formed from Nike Atomknit, a new version of Nike Flyknit.
The Viperfly sprint shoe incorporates an innovative new carbon plate — produced by a new process, Custom Fiber Placement (CFP), which allows for varying flexibility within the plate — and an unmistakable forefoot Nike Air Zoom unit. This composition, developed alongside the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, was designed to provide responsiveness and energy. It follows deep study of the strategy and performance of the race, and focuses attention on what athletes need most in the last 20 meters of the sprint.
Prototypes of the Air Zoom Victory were worn by Nike sponsored athletes during the 2019 season, with the forefoot Zoom Air units disguised by the use of tape.
The layers of tape on the forefoot plates were removed at the world championships in Doha.
After winning the 10000 and the 1500, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who was training with the Beaverton based Nike Oregon Project, appeared to throw her spikes into the Khalifa International Stadium stands in jubilation over her victories.
The shoes were actually thrown towards Nike employees working on the project.
THE UNIFORMS
While most of the attention was focused on the shoes, Nike revealed the uniforms that USA Track & Field will debut in Tokyo, and if history is any indication, what will be the national team's look for the next Olympic (4-year) cycle.
The competition uniforms (left/photo courtesy Nike), which are made of Nike's proprietary Dri-Fit Aeroswift material, employs a mesh engineered with knitted structures and subtle ridges, creating a garment that’s breathable and that moves with the athlete — it also provides 25 percent more stretch from previous kits.
paulmerca.blogspot.com has reached out to the various manufacturers for more information on the footwear that will debut at the Olympic Marathon Trials.
NOTE: The media relations office at Nike contributed to this report.
The Alphafly Next% is the next generation of marathon racing shoes that Nike has developed over the last four years, beginning with a prototype worn by Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg at the 2016 Olympic marathon trials in Los Angeles, Kipchoge when he won the Olympic marathon in Rio and the Breaking 2 Project in 2017 in Italy where he came close to breaking 2 hours in the marathon.
The February 29 release date happens to coincide with the day of the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.
THE ALPHAFLY NEXT% MARATHON SHOE
In the weeks leading up to the Olympic Trials, the Alphafly Next%, and to a certain extent, the Vaporfly, has elicited an outcry from those in the running community because of its higher than normal stack height (amount of material between the foot and the ground), the Zoom Air pods in the shoe's forefoot, the Pebax foam midsole (Nike's proprietary name for the foam is Zoom X), and the scoop-like carbon fiber plate imbedded in the foam that critics contend works on the same principle as a blade or prosthetic foot.
Athletes who have sponsorship agreements with other manufacturers have used doctored Nike Vaporflys in order to compete with those possessing the Vaporfly.
Proponents of the shoe shot back by saying that all of the materials used in the making of the Alphafly Next% have been used at some point by various manufacturers since the turn of the century, but that Nike has found a way to engineer these materials so they work in concert with each other.
In response to complaints by various stakeholders of the sport, World Athletics (formerly the IAAF) amended its rules on competition shoes last week.
Beginning April 30th (not so coincidentally, 4 months before the first day of track & field competition at the Olympics), any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market (online or in store) for a period of four months before it can be used in competition.
"If a shoe is not openly available to all then it will be deemed a prototype and use of it in competition will not be permitted. Subject to compliance with the rules, any shoe that is available to all, but is customised for aesthetic reasons, or for medical reasons to suit the characteristics of a particular athlete’s foot, will be allowed."
Moving forward, any shoe thicker than 40 millimeters is banned from competition, and can't have more than one rigid embedded plate. In the case of track spikes, an additional plate is allowed, but "only for the purpose of attaching the spikes to the sole, and the sole must be no thicker than 30 mm."
Historically, all of the major athletic shoe manufacturers have used the Olympics and/or the world championships to launch their new lines, with the expectation that the footwear you see on the Olympians will be available for sale the following year.
However, the new World Athletics ruling has forced Nike and other manufacturers to accelerate the launch of their products.
Just last week, Seattle based Brooks Sports announced the launch of their answer to the Vaporfly Next% (Nike's current marathon racing shoe), the Hyperion Elite on February 27th. Saucony, New Balance, Asics, and others are expected to announce similar shoes with the combination of a carbon fiber plate embedded in a foam midsole.
A question raised by athletes who don't have an athletic footwear sponsorship competing at the Marathon Trials is whether or not they can obtain these shoes in a proper timeframe before the Trials in order to make a reasonable decision to use/not use them in competition without feeling as if they're at a competitive disadvantage.
THE SPIKES
 |
| Sifan Hassan's prototype Air Zoom Victory spikes worn at the 2019 World Championships in Doha (Paul Merca photo) |
According to the Nike release, the Air Zoom Victory has a unique welded Nike Zoom Air sole, which divides the unit into two separate pockets, provides responsive impact protection and allows for a smooth transition without sacrificing control on the track. The Nike ZoomX foam is employed as a thin midsole between the carbon plate and ground, and the full system is tuned to minimize energy loss and maximize response. The spike's upper is formed from Nike Atomknit, a new version of Nike Flyknit.The Viperfly sprint shoe incorporates an innovative new carbon plate — produced by a new process, Custom Fiber Placement (CFP), which allows for varying flexibility within the plate — and an unmistakable forefoot Nike Air Zoom unit. This composition, developed alongside the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, was designed to provide responsiveness and energy. It follows deep study of the strategy and performance of the race, and focuses attention on what athletes need most in the last 20 meters of the sprint.
Prototypes of the Air Zoom Victory were worn by Nike sponsored athletes during the 2019 season, with the forefoot Zoom Air units disguised by the use of tape.
The layers of tape on the forefoot plates were removed at the world championships in Doha.
After winning the 10000 and the 1500, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who was training with the Beaverton based Nike Oregon Project, appeared to throw her spikes into the Khalifa International Stadium stands in jubilation over her victories.
The shoes were actually thrown towards Nike employees working on the project.
THE UNIFORMS
The competition uniforms (left/photo courtesy Nike), which are made of Nike's proprietary Dri-Fit Aeroswift material, employs a mesh engineered with knitted structures and subtle ridges, creating a garment that’s breathable and that moves with the athlete — it also provides 25 percent more stretch from previous kits.
paulmerca.blogspot.com has reached out to the various manufacturers for more information on the footwear that will debut at the Olympic Marathon Trials.
NOTE: The media relations office at Nike contributed to this report.
Comments